Stephen Melville

General Stephen Alexander Melville (31 December 190417 June 1977) was a South African Air Force officer. He commanded air force formations in East Africa, North Africa, Madagascar, and Italy during the Second World War, and rose to Air Chief of Staff (1954–56) and Commandant General of the South African Defence Force (1958–60).

Early life

Melville was born in Matatiele, Natal, on 31 December 1904, and was educated at Grey College, Bloemfontein. He then worked in a bank, and later joined the Merchant Navy as a stoker. He joined the South African Mounted Rifles in 1924 as a trooper before transferring to the Artillery. In 1929, after a short boxing career in South Africa and the United States, Melville was trained as a pilot and transferred to the South African Air Force.

Melville served as Air Chief of Staff from 1954 to 1956, as Inspector-General from 1956 to 1958, and as Commandant General, the head of the Union Defence Force, from 1958 to 1960. He was awarded the Star of South Africa in June 1960.

Melville later served on the Armaments Board until 1974. He was also the Government's representative on the Rand Water Board.

Awards and decorations

link=Order of Saint Anna Order of St. Anne with Swords (Russia)